Additive tension device



May 6, 1952 N. E. KLEIN ADDITIVE TENSION DEVICE Filed Dec. 9, 1949 INVENTOR NORMQN E. KLEIN flrroRA/e'y Patented May 6, 1952 ADDITIVE TENSION DEVICE Norman E. Klein, Stamford, Conn, assignor to Deering MillikenResearch Trust, Greenwich, Conn., a, nonprofit trust of Maine Application December 9, 1949,. Serial N 0. 131,992

7 6 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for imparting tension to filamentary material and,j more particularly, to devices composed of elements having curved surfaces for passage of material thereover wherein the amount of tension imparted to the material depends upon the angle of contact of the material with each element.

Under certain circumstances, when transferring filamentary material from one package to another, as, for example, when winding quills on a #90 Universal winder, it is desirable to wind the material at a tension gradient which varies with the diameter of the package. This requires a tension device which imparts a tension to the filamentary material passed thereover or therethrough synchronized or coordinated with the traverse mechanism of the winder. Tension devices of this character heretofore made are complicated in their construction and in consequence have not been completely satisfactory.- 7

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tension device which imparts a tension to filamentary material passed therethrough dependent upon the path of the material therethrough.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tension device which imparts a tension to filamentary material passed therethrough dependent upon the position of the traverse mechanism during packaging or winding.

It is a further object of the invention to, provide a device for imparting tension to filamentary material which comprises at least two elongated elements spaced from each other and having opposed surfaces adapted to engage opposite surfaces of the material during passage therebetween, arranged in such a relation to each other that material passed therebetween contacts each element over an angle determined by its position along the length of said element.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a tension device having no moving parts and composed of an array of elongated members arranged in two rows such that the opposed surfaces engage opposite sides of the material passed therebetween and cause it. to follow a tortuous path, the angle of contact of the material with the elements changing with transverse displacement thereof along the surface of the elements.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a tension device composed of a base memher having an array of elongated members affixed thereto and projecting therefrom alternately in one of two other.

planes at an angl t ea h The tension device of the invention is more fully, shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a winding mechanism embodying one form of tension device of the invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are top plan and end elevational views, respectively, of the tension device of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of a quill winder embodying a tension device in accordance with the invention;

Figs. 5 and 6 are top plan and end views, respectively, of the tension device of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of the tension device of Fig. 4.

The tension introduced into yarn when it is passed over a surface increases with increase in the angle of contact with the surface in accordance with the exponential equation:

T=Tue where To is input tension, T is output tension, 1 is the coefiicient of friction between the yarn and the surfacein engagement therewith, and a the total angle through which the yarn engages the surfaces.

The tension device shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inelusive, has a curved elongated steel base I with an array composed of two divergent rows of elongated members or pins 2 set in the base at an angle of about 10 to each other. The pins are made of hardened steel plated with chromium for better wear, and are press fit into passages 3 in the base. The base is pierced at one end by the passage 4 for attachment of an elongated guide 5, whose positionrelative to the pins may be adjusted by the swivel screw 6 and nut l.

The operation of the device is as follows:

The yarn Y, from a supply bobbin (not shown),

is. passed through the guide 5 and then between the two rows of pins, following a path along the opposed surfaces of the pins over an angle of contact with each pin that depends in part upon the position of the yarn guide 8 and of the traverse mechanism 9. As will readily be seen, the closer the yarn is to the base of thetension device of the invention, the greater will be the angle of contact of the yarn with each pin and the greater the tension introduced into the yarn.

The quill winder shown diagrammatically in Fig. 4 has a tension device I I embodying the invention mounted on the traverse bar l2 for reciprocation therewith during winding of the quill IA. The tension device of Fig. 4,- shown also in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, comprises a base I 1 made of steel or other metal and having an array of pins 18 of chromium-plated steel or ether metal arranged alternately in two divergent rows at an angle of about 10 to each other and about 5 to right or left of the vertical plane perpendicular to the base. The pins are press fit into passages l9 (see Fig. 5) in the base. An elongated yarn guide 20 is afiixed to the base I1 by a swivel screw 2| and nut 22, by means of which the guide may be adjusted in any position relative to the base, shortened or lengthened or placed at varying angles to the array of pins.

The operation of the tension device shown in Fig. 4 is as follows: The yarn Y from any suitable source of supply (not shown) is threaded through the guide and between the two rows of pins. The yarn path between and over the pins determines the amount of tension introduced into the yarn, and this path is varied automatically as the diameter of the winding on quill l4 changes with the traverse and with build up of the yarn on the quill. The path depends also upon the initial adjustment of the position of guide 20. During traverse from apex to base of the nested cones of a quill wind the yarn path shifts from the path shown in dashed lines in Fig. 4 to that shown in full lines with consequent decrease in total angle of contact of the yarn with the pin surfaces and decrease in tension introduced into the yarn.

From the above description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent that the new device is sensitive and rapid acting, and the tension imparted thereby is continuously variable. Because the construction permits application of from zero to any desired amount of tension, the tension introduced into the yarn may be varied from point to point in the traverse during winding of packages. The new device, while of general utility in controlling yarn tension has been found particularly valuable in controlling the tension in yarn durin quill winding where velocity changes of the yarn are great and variations in tension are desired from point to point along the quill.

The invention has been described with reference to two embodiments thereof. Obviously, various changes could be made in the particular construction illustrated and described, and parts could be omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims. For example, the device may be formed of one integral casting with the pins an integral part of the base. Moreover, instead of being made of hard steel, the device may be made of glass, AlSi Mag (a synthetic ceramic material), or of a durable plastic such as nylon or tetrafiuoroethylene. In the illustrated embodiments of the invention, there are six to twelve fixed pins; obviously a lesser or a greater number could be employed, as desired. Broadly speaking, a device having but two fixed pins would be satisfactory for applications where large ranges in input tension are not encountered and it is not intended to apply large amounts of output tension to the yarn, and such a device is within the scope of the invention. Also, the pins could be set at varying angles to the perpendicular to the base, depending upon their diameter, and the row of pins set up to about 20 apart. The smaller the angle between the row of pins, and the longer th pins, the greater the sensitivity of the device to small changes in the position of the filamentary material.

The following is claimed:

1. The combination with a quill winder having a traverse bar which reciprocates longitudinally of the quill to be wound, a tension device mounted on said bar for movement therewith, said tension device comprising a row of fixed pins adapted to engage therebetween material to be wound on the quill, the pins being so disposed that the axes of alternate pins extend in planes diverging through a small angle from the plane perpendicular to the direction of traverse of the bar, whereby the total angle of contact of the material with the pins varies with the diameter of the winding on the quill.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the pins are made of hardened steel and have chromium-plated surfaces.

3. A device in accordance with claim 1, in which the angle is less than 20.

4. A device in accordance with claim 1 in which the rows of pins are set at an angle of about 10 to each other 5. A device in accordance with claim 1 including a guide for filamentary material pivotally mounted on said device.

6. The combination with a textile winding machine having means for delivering yarn to a yarn carrier rotating on its axis, of a tension device mounted on said delivery means, said tension device comprising a row of fixed pins adapted to engage therebetween yarn to be wound on the yarn carrier, the pins being so disposed that the axes of alternate pins extend in planes diverging through a small angle from the plane perpendicular to the axis of the carrier whereby the total angle of contact of the yarn with the pins varies with the diameter of the winding on the carrier.

NORMAN E. KLEIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 5%,558 France July 26, 1922 660,174 Germany May 19, 1938 

